She said parents who had paid for camps in Matlosana sub-district in the Klerksdorp area would be reimbursed after the department had conducted its own investigation. 

"The department is going to conduct investigations to find the parents who have paid for the camps and reimburse them," Mmatsemela said. 

This follows an agreement by school governing bodies and parents of Grade 12 learners in Kanana, Khuma and Jouberton who initiated study camps as a safety measure for their children due to the prevalence of gangsterism in the area, which threatened to disrupt their year-end examinations. 

"Parents approached their school principals and volunteered to pay a total of R1,500 per learner for study camps to cater for accommodation and meals for the learners. 

She said the department decided then to support the initiative and to provide suitably equipped camps that were conducive for studying for the learners.

"It paid R11 million to cater for the 2,135 learners for the three camps held at Milner Secondary which housed four schools, Vaal Reef with ten schools and Camelot with four schools," she said.

Mmatsemela said the department has intervened with the initiative to ensure that the learners were not exposed to danger. 

The camps provide learners with three meals a day and they have teachers to assist them in their studies.

The camps each have a clinic on-site, sufficient exam halls, a fully-fledged kitchen, dining area, sports facilities and an on-site canteen. The number of security personnel at the camps has been increased to 300.

"There is a full-time technical team on-site which attends to maintenance and any other issues as they arise at the camps. I want to urge our communities to give learners space and not disturb learners as they prepare themselves for the examinations," Matsemela said.

Learners will spend 37 days at the camps and will leave after writing the last examination paper on 28 November.

African News Agency